The real question is why does it cost $500k to play a Test match.
Presumably we sell the media rights to a series, so we shouldn't be paying to have cameras and media equipment, etc.
Accomodation, food, ground preparation, etc are the things we can't get around, but that shouldn't cost half a million.
Yeah, and I'd be happy to lose some of the technical aspects for the sake of playing a game. It is silly to have tech that is supposed to generate interest in the game actually making it unaffordable to put on.